Lawsuit: Denver sheriff's deputy ignored inmate's screams in attack
http://bcove.me/kgtx5ura
The Denver post
Denver sheriff's
deputy ignored an inmate's blood-curdling screams and looked on with
indifference as a group of fellow inmates brutally attacked him and
scalded his genitals with hot water, the man's attorneys wrote in
federal court filings filed this week.
Jamal Hunter says in the civil rights lawsuit that the deputy not only failed to protect him from the July 2011 attack
but also facilitated and encouraged it. Video surveillance filed as
part of the lawsuit shows the deputy, Gaynel Rumer, walking around the
cell block in the Downtown Denver Detention Center without looking
directly inside the cell where Hunter was being beaten.Court
documents filed in federal court Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014 claim a Denver
sheriff's deputy knew about and facilitated the brutal beating and
scalding of an inmate. (Video released via federal civil rights lawsuit)
The
filings include testimony from several inmates who were in the
cellblock at the time who said they are still haunted by the sounds of
Hunter's prolonged screams.
Hunter said he was attacked after his
cellmates accused him of snitching and insulting them behind their
backs. He said they punched him, broke his nose, tied his legs and later
burned his genitals with boiling water they got from a spigot to which
inmates apparently had unfettered access.
The lawsuit says Rumer,
who is still on the job after a 40-day suspension, knew Hunter would be
assaulted because of his relationship with the attackers "and because he
had previously allowed rampant fighting to occur so that inmates could
address their conflicts."
Maj. Frank Gale, a department spokesman, said he could not comment on pending litigation.
"We've got to wait for our day in court," he said.
The
latest details were contained in documents filed this week in
connection with the lawsuit, which has been pending since 2012.
It
was among the high-profile misconduct issues that shook the Denver
sheriff's department in recent months. Among those who were deposed as
part of the lawsuit was former Division Chief Michael Than, who abruptly
resigned last month while facing his own misconduct allegations.
"Denver
has to take responsibility for the grotesque and permanent injuries
suffered by Jamal Hunter," Hunter's attorney Qusair Mohamedbhai said.
"No one should have to go through the torture that Jamal experienced as a
result of Denver's inability to ensure inmate safety. The pattern of
abuse, injury, and death in the Denver jail must stop."
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